Features

Snigdha Nag reviews Made In Dagenham  

Stephanie Hawthorne picks out her favourite features from her tenure as Editor 

David Wurtzel looks through old issues. The rhetoric is the same, he concludes 

Lord Justice Toulson discusses the forthcoming selection for seven criminal law Senior Circuit Judge appointments.  

There will soon be a rare opportunity to apply for a significant number of criminal law Senior Circuit Judge roles across the country, including the Old Bailey where for the first time there is to be a vacancy for a judge to work for a reduced number of days. 

Nigel Pascoe QC raises his glass to celebrate Counsel's 25th anniversary 

And so, dear reader, which is it to be: a magnum of champagne or a small glass of dry sherry to celebrate a modest achievement?  Probably somewhere between the two .  Counsel has reached its 25th birthday in reasonable shape with a continuing selection of readable articles and more friends than implacable enemies.  Let that not sound too complacent.  There will always be angry readers believing, as with Punch, that it is not the magazine they remember.  In a sense they are quite right.  Counsel continues to evolve, but a discernable independent spirit still exists which continues to mirror the extraordinary panorama of the practicing and employed bar. 

Position: Barrister
Chambers: Brick Court Chambers 

The presumption against short prison sentences in Scotland could provide lessons for south of the border, says Dr Sarah Armstrong 

On the very same day in June 2010 that the Lord Chancellor Kenneth Clarke QC MP argued for fewer short prison sentences in England and Wales, the Scottish Parliament passed a law to do just that. The Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 creates a presumption against prison sentences of three months or less, culminating a major effort to reform the use of imprisonment here. 

Gavin Purves explains why Counsel was established and charts its development 

John Cooper QC wonders whether a compartmentalised subject-specific approach to sentencing policy has contributed to the public’s lack of confidence in the regime. Sentencing tariffs should be consistent and comparable with each other, he believes 

Name: Julie Cave
Position: Managing Director
Company: Credit Management (Law) Ltd